Anchor caddy

ABSTRACT

This anchor rope clamping or locking mechanism preferably provides a pivoted smooth edged clamp and an opposing smooth clamping surface between which a rope may be clamped repeatedly without abrasion. It includes a rope guide integral with the clamp coacitng with adjacent reverse bends in the rope for positively actuating the clamp into locking position and thereafter maintaining gravity energized locking pressure thereon when the free end of the rope is released.

llnited States Patent Kramoski Oct. 29, 1974 ANCHOR CADDY 2,547,3704/1951 Boyer 24/134 KB 2,938,491 5/1960 Scanlin 114 210 [76] Inventor-John 925 Mason Ave-1 2,955,560 10/1960 Howington et ul. 114/210 Aurora60538 3,146,754 9/1964 Ohnsman 24/134 CP [22] Filed: Dec. 16, 1971 I ppNO: 208,976 Primary Examiner-Paul R. Gilliam Related US. ApplicationData A istant ExaminerDarrell Marquette Attorney, Agent, or FirmFrank.l. Foley [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 22,100, March 13,

1970, abandoned. [57] ABSTRACT [52] Us Cl 24/134 KC 24/132 AB 4/199 Thisanchor rope,clamping or locking mechanism 51 Irit. Cl. ..F1 6g 11/04Preferably PmYideS a Pivmed edged clamp 58 Field ofSearchQ... 24/134 KC,134 KB, 134 R, OPPOSmg smomh surface beiween 24/132 AB 134 182/5 188/65which a rope may be clamped repeatedly without 112N199 abrasion. itincludes a rope guide integral with the clamp coacitng with adjacentreverse bends in the [56] References Cited rope for positively actuatingthe clamp into locking position and thereafter maintaining gravityenergized UNITED STATES PATENTS locking pressure thereon when the freeend of the l89,l07 et Ell 24/l34 KC rope is released 1,692,640 ll/l928Erickson 1,710,697 4/1929 Gilbert 114/210 3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 301 30 9 m P- 7 1 30b 3 7 2g 2g [11x c J:1

PATENTEUUBIZQ lav. 4 3.843.999

INVE N 70/? JOHN M KRAHOf/f/ PATENTEBumzs I974 318481899 EU '8 0f 4INVENTOR 10m NL KRAMOSK/ Atty, WW4

1 ANCHOR CADDY This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.22,100, filed Mar. 13, 1970, now abandoned.

This invention relates to improvements in rope clamp-in devicesespecially suitablefor attachment to a boat for clamping anchor ropes inanchor raised or lowered positions. The device also includes a cradleinto which an anchor may be retained snugly so that it will not bangagainst the boat when the anchor is raised.

The general object of the invention is to provide an anchor clampingdevice which needs no rope abradingsurfaces to be effective, and needsno springs, will lock automatically when it should lock, and is releasedby a mere tug on the rope.

Another object is to provide in a rope locking device a movable clampand an adjoining rope guide operative to move and to hold the clamp inclamping position responsive to a gravity pull on the rope by an anchorsuspended thereon.

Another object is to provide an anchor rope clamping device having apivoted rope clamp and a rope guide control member positioned at andconnected to the forward side of the clamp bar and adapted to coact withthe rope and the clamp bar causing the rope to exert a downward pull onthe clamp when the free end of the rope is released.

Other objects and advantages will be mentioned hereinafter, or willbecome apparent.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a central longitudinalsectional view through the anchor caddy.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the device.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the caddy.

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the caddy.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a portion of the caddy to show a modifiedform of anchor cradle.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the parts shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a view of the navigational light at the position of thevertical plane of the line 7-7 of FIG. 1.

Referring further to the drawings, the frame of the caddy comprises theangular members 7 and 8, surmounted by the flat sheet 9, all of whichshould be of steel or other suitable strong and durable material. Theframe may be attached in any suitable manner to the bow of a boat, forexample by screws 21a, extending through the members 7 and 8.

The legs of a U-shaped bracket 4 may extend downwardly through suitableslots inside of the vertical portions of the members 7 and 8, and bewelded thereto as by welding 5a. An intermediate rope pulley 16 issupported on shaft 15, which extends through the legs of bracket 4 andwhose ends may be retained by C clips 14 (FIG. 2).

The legs of a U-shaped bracket 3 may extend downwardly through suitableslots inside the vertical portions of the members 7 and 8 and be weldedthereto as at 6b. A shaft 13 is supported between the legs of thebracket 3, and supports a rope pulley 11.

The legs of the U-shaped bracket 5 extend down through suitable slotsinside the vertical portions of the angle members 7 and 8, and arewelded thereto, as at 10. A shaft 12 is supported by the legs of bracket5, and a clamp bar 17 having a width equal to the space between thoselegs (FIG. 3) is pivotally supported on shaft 12, the shaft beingsecured as by C-clips 14 (FIG. 2).

The legs of a U-shaped rope guide 19 are secured in any suitable mannerto the opposite lateral sides of bar 17, extending forwardly therefromat a position shortly above the lower end of the clamp bar. This guide19 slidably receives the rope 18 coming back from under the pulley 16and guides it as it passes under the free end of clamp 17.

As shown in FIG. 1, the under'surface of pulley 16 is lower than the topedge of guide 19, which assures that the rope 18 must bend downwardlysubstantially as it enters into the top of guide 19, and where the ropepasses under the bottom of clamp 17 it bends in a reverse manner,generally upwardly. These succesive closely spaced reversed bendscooperate to produce a double snubbing action, whereby the rope, whilesubject to the pull of the anchor, acting on the guide 19, pulls theclamp downwardly into a tighter and tighter grip on the rope. Thisfactor makes it unnecessary to provide teeth or serrstions on the clamp,and it may have, and preferably does have a smooth and somewhat roundedlower edge, as shown.

Extended use of this clamping action has revealed that it does notabrade even a soft cotton rope. This is important, as an abraded ropecould cause loss of an anchor.

To permit rapid lowering or raising of the anchor, the the boatsman mayelevate the free end of the rope to lift the clamping bar to a nearlyhorizontal position, which places the short passage through the guide 19also nearly horizontal, whereupon the rope may pass through the devicevirtually free of friction. Yet, whenever the rope is released eitherintentionally or accidently, the clamping bar will instantly rotatedownwardly by gravity, and produce the relationship of the parts asshown in FIG. 1, whereupon the aforesaid snubbing action will occur, andthe rope will be automatically gripped and stopped.

A grommet 6a with smooth edges fixed in the web 9 guides the rope comingup from the anchor and extending over the pulley 11. Another grommet 20may be fixed as shown for connecting the boat to a dock or other object.

An anchor cradle may be provided consisting of a sturdy rod 22 securedas by welding to block 10, which itself may be welded in the channelspace provided in the frame. A ring 23 may be secured to the lower endof rod 22 for receiving the frustro-conical boss 24 of a conventionalanchor 25 having a curved bottom surface 26 and the eye bolt 27. Thiscradle restrains a raised anchor from banging against the boat when theboat is in transit.

As a convenience, plate 28 may be secured on the top of the brackets 3and 5 as by welding at 29, or otherwise, and a conventional navigationlight 30 be provided with red and green lenses 30a and 30b, and a switch300.

Another form of cradle is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, having a vertical post34 and arcuate arms 32 and 32, for receiving various forms of anchors.

Abrasion of the anchor rope is avoided not only by the fact the thelower end of the bar is smooth and rounded but the surface of the web 9against which the rope is pressed by the bar is also smooth, preferably.

As the rope guide 19 is secured to the clamping bar close to its lowerend greater leverage is applied to the bar by the snubbing action of therope guide means than would be the case if the guide were attachedhigher and nearer to the pivotal axis of the bar.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to the detailsof construction shown herein, but embraces variations within the scopeof the appended CLAIMS.

Having shown and described my invention, I claim:

1. An anchor rope clamping mechanism comprising,

an elongated frame having a downwardly opening longitudinal channelcentrally thereof,

a U-shaped bracket having downwardly extended legs secured to thevertical sides of said channel in the forward portion of the frame,

a pulley mounted between said legs for guiding on its upper peripheralportion an anchor supporting rope,

a second U-shaped bracket having downwardly extended legs secured to thevertical sides of said channel in the rear portion of the frame,

a clamping bar pivotally mounted near its upper end between the legs ofsaid second bracket to swing downwardly toward said frame,

means on the frame against which the lower end of the bar may pinch andclamp the rope,

said bar having a non-abrading lower edge portion engagable with therope when in clamping position,

rope guide means secured to the forward face of the bar and near itslower end and positioned to guide the rope downwardly and rearwardlyunder the bar,

a third U-shaped bracket positioned between the pulley and the barhaving downwardly extended legs secured to the vertical sides of saidchannel,

and an intermediate rope guide positioned within and supported on saidthird bracket and positioned to receive on its under side an anchor ropefrom the top of said pulley and guide it therefrom to a lower levelcloser to the frame and thence to a higher level at which it bendsdownwardly to enter the first aforesaid rope guide means.

2. An anchor rope clamping mechanism in accordance with claim 1, inwhich upon manual release of the rope the forward movement of the ropewhen subject to the pull of the anchor exerts a strong snubbing actionon the rope guide means, pulling the clamp bar forwardly and downwardlyinto a tight clamping grip on the rope.

3. An anchor rope clamping mechanism in accordance with claim 1 inwhich, when the mechanism is moving into and attains full rope clampingposition, the reversed curvatures of the rope extending from the top ofthe pulley, thence underneath the intermediate guide means, thence intothe rope guide on the bar, subject to the pull of the anchor on the ropeguide means imposes a tight lock upon the anchor rope.

1. An anchor rope clamping mechanism comprising, an elongated framehaving a downwardly opening longitudinal channel centrally thereof, aU-shaped bracket having downwardly extended legs secured to the verticalsides of said channel in the forward portion of the frame, a pulleymounted between said legs for guiding on its upper peripheral portion ananchor supporting rope, a second U-shaped bracket having downwardlyextended legs secured to the vertical sides of said channel in the rearportion of the frame, a clamping bar pivotally mounted near its upperend between the legs of said second bracket to swing downwardly towardsaid frame, means on the frame against which the lower end of the barmay pinch and clamp the rope, said bar having a non-abrading lower edgeportion engagable with the rope when in clamping position, rope guidemeans secured to the forward face of the bar and near its lower end andpositioned to guide the rope downwardly and rearwardly under the bar, athird U-shaped bracket positioned between the pulley and the bar havingdownwardly extended legs secured to the vertical sides of said channel,and an intermediate rope guide positioned within and supported on saidthird bracket and positioned to receive on its under side an anchor ropefrom the top of said pulley and guide it therefrom to a lower levelcloser to the frame and thence to a higher level at which it bendsdownwardly to enter the first aforesaid rope guide means.
 2. An anchorrope clamping mechanism in accordance with claim 1, in which upon manualrelease of the rope the forward movement of the rope when subject to thepull of the anchor exerts a strong snubbing action on the rope guidemeans, pulling the clamp bar forwardly and downwardly into a tightclamping grip on the rope.
 3. An anchor rope clamping mechanism inaccordance with claim 1 in which, when the mechanism is moving into andattains full rope clamping position, the reversed curvatures of the ropeextending from the top of the pulley, thence underneath the intermediateguide means, thence into the rope guide on the bar, subject to the pullof the anchor on the rope guide means imposes a tight lock upon theanchor rope.